Chinese Recipes | Cooking Tips | Good Eats

This picture is posted in fond memory of the wonderful taste of Lo Bak from Penang Village. In Singapore, we call this dish “Ngor Hiang“, although “Ngor Hiang” really just refers to the Crispy Fried Pork Roll. Correct me if I am wrong, in Hokkien dialect, “Ngor Hiang” means “Five Spices” because Five Spice Powder is one of the ingredients to make this Crispy Fried Pork Roll.

I will definitely have my fill of Ngor Hiang at Maxwell Food Center when I am back in Singapore. Perhaps I now need to eat there more than once, so that I won’t be craving for Penang Village’s Lo Bak when I am back to the Bay Area.

Then again, the more I eat the same thing over a short period of time, the level of satisfaction I gain each time decreases, ya? (Basic Economics’ Law of Diminishing Marginal Returns) How many times can I eat my Ngor Hiang at Maxwell Food Center? *Dilemma Dilemma*

I thought I had begged Penang Village to stay open? *Sob* *Choke*

J liked their Shrimp Pancake and Hot and Sour Chilli Sauce while I liked everything. Even though this Lo Bak dish was sold as an appetizer, I could make this part of a main course, cos there was just so much food.

The Shrimp Pancake was light and not doughy; the Crispy Fried Pork Roll was meaty without being too overwhelming; the Preserved Egg was cooked to perfection - the egg yolk was still a little moist. The Tofu was crispy and goes very well with the Hot and Sour Chilli Sauce. The Nonya Achar was really the traditional kind made from the Rempar mix of dried chillies, candlenuts, turmeric, lemon grass, galangal, shrimp paste, dried shrimp, rice vinegar, sugar and salt.

This shall be my last post on the food I have tasted in Penang Village.

Penang Village - All the best to you. Please re-open some place else in the Bay Area. Pretty please?

Rendang is a traditional Nonya cuisine. I have always been intimidated by Nonya cooking because there are just so many ingredients required.

“Nonya cooking is not only about the blending of pungent roots but also the long marinating of meats and seafood before it is cooked. Fresh herbs such as lemongrass, lengkuas [galangal or wild ginger] and kunyit [turmeric root] are pounded, more often than not, by hand using a granite mortar & pestle. Chilies, candlenuts, shallots and belacan are a must in most Nyonya dishes. Aromatic leaves such as kaffir lime leaves, pandan or pandanus [screwpine leaves], daun salam [fresh bay leaves] and daun kunyit [turmeric leaves] add ‘Nyonya zest’ to it’s wonderful cookery.”
(Source: malaysianfood.net/Nyonyafood.html)

How not to be not intimidated?!? Coupled with the fact that I may not be able to get all the ingredients in the Bay Area, is it really worth the trouble?

But I tell you… nonya food is really delicious! Lots of flavor, texture, aroma for that gastronomic experience that satisfies all your senses.

I have taken the first step. I have purchased my very first Mortar and Pestle. *Applause! Applause!* I am ready to pound my heart out and give my best effort to making Beef Rendang.

The above picture shows the Beef Rendang dish from Penang Village. The beef is tender and moist, coated in a dense fabric of spice and herbs.

My opinion is that Beef Rendang is best eaten with plain white rice and Sambal Kang Kong. We had ordered Seafood Fried Rice and I found that there was just too much going on. Eating Beef Rendang with plain white rice will ensure that you get the most out of the Beef Rendang’s rich flavor of beef, dried chillies, shallots, garlic, galangal, lemon grass, ginger, cinnamon bark, cardamom, curry powder and tamarind.

Sad news: Penang Village (1290 Coleman Ave, Santa Clara, CA 95050) is closed. Notice on their website:
“Dear Valued Customers,

Penang Village is closed due to expired lease. Thank you for your long-time support. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact info@penangvillage.com, we’ll try our best to answer you.

Thank you
Penang Village
January 15, 2007″

How not to not make my own Beef Rendang now?

I finally got to eat my Crispy Baby Squids at Prima Taste Restaurant last weekend because I specifically called in to ask if they have that “in stock”. The waitress might even recognize my voice since J and I frequent that restaurant and usually ask for the same “tried and tested” dishes.

This time round, I wanted to eat something other than Hainanese Chicken Rice (since I can make that at home anyway right?) So I went through a process of selection by elimination on what would pair up well with Crispy Baby Squids.

Curry Chicken - Not so nice. Chicken was tough. Curry gravy was thin and wimpy.

Prawn Dishes - Mom said not to eat too much prawns so this was out.

Sambal Kang Kong - There wasn’t enough sambal in this Kang Kong dish.

Beef Rendang - Don’t feel like it.

We finally decided on plain white Rice, Crispy Baby Squids and Fish Head Curry!

Crispy Baby Squid: $8.75

The Crispy Baby Squid served here is somewhat different from the ones I have eaten in Long Beach Seafood Restaurant in Singapore. The ones in Prima are actually nicer! The Baby Squids are bigger, slightly thinner, crispy and not too sweet. The ones at Long Beach sometimes end up overcooked and chewy instead of crispy.

Next up …

Fish Head Curry: $11.95 for half a fish head

The sharp, lemony aroma of the gravy was very appetizing. The piquancy quotient of the Curry Fish Head was lifted with the assam, the ’souring’ ingredient that provides the tang.

The picture above was how the Curry Fish Head was served - in a claypot, with slices of eggplant, a few long beans, pieces of tomato and pineapple and of course the fish (hiding below)!

The fish that Prima Taste Restaurant used was Salmon Fish Head. I love eating the cheeks and top of the head. These are the smoothest part, in my opinion. (I don’t dare to eat the fish eyes. Do you?)

This picture was showing the “wrong side” of the fish, hence it looked like a picture out of Aliens.

The assam gravy drizzled over rice was delicious. We had asked for the lightest heat (chilli / spiciness) intensity so that the heat was manageable for us. The light sweetness of the Crispy Baby Squids helped to counter the heat.

We finished up all the ingredients in pot and even asked for the gravy “to-go” so that we can dip our Roti Prata into this spicy tangy Fish Head Curry gravy. Oh so yummy!

Prima Taste USA
1701 Lundy Ave. #100
San Jose, CA 95131

Tel (408) 392-9268

Hours
M-F: 10-3 pm & 5-9 pm
Sat: 11 am to 10:30 pm
Sun: 11 am to 10 pm

There was one time whereby I nearly gave up on Prima Taste Restaurant. J and I had ordered Roti Prata, Hainanese Chicken Rice and Crispy Baby Squids. It happened that a couple who arrived later sat behind us and they also ordered Hainanese Chicken Rice and Crispy Baby Squids.

While J and I were busy devouring the crispy and chewy Roti Prata, we saw the waitress serve Hainanese Chicken Rice and Crispy Baby Squids to that couple. We were like… How come like that? We came first right?

Never mind that. We waited for our turn and horror of horrors! The waitress came by and apologized that they have run out of Crispy Baby Squids! She then suggested we order Curry Chicken. Grrrr! First of all, we ordered first. Secondly, she committed the Crispy Baby Squids order to the other couple and served them before us. Then thirdly, she came back and said they ran out of squids and suggested a poultry dish knowing that we already ordered one! Grrrr!

In the end, J and I had one Roti Prata each, and just the Hainanese Chicken Rice.

Roti Prata: $2.95 each (expensive!!!)

Hainanese Chicken Rice: $8.95

The Roti Prata at Prima Taste Restaurant never failed us. In fact, after trying the Roti Prata at Penang Village and Layang Layang, we personally prefer the Prima Taste Roti Prata because it is crispy, yet chewy. The ones at Penang Village and Layang Layang were a tad too thin and crispy (they don’t give us our money’s worth of Prata!)

The Hainanese Chicken Rice was also one of their better dishes. The chicken is smooth and tender and the rice is not too oily. The chilli sauce, garlic sauce and thick sweet soy sauce all have the familiar taste of the sauces served with Hainanese Chicken Rice in hawker centers in Singapore.

On the whole, the food made up for that small incident at Prima Taste Restaurant. J even gave them a good tip. He’s such a dear.

When the going gets tough, the cook gets going to the packaged food section to look for meals that can be ready in 5 minutes.

Ok ok… how tough can cooking be? I was just lazy. It was just one of those days when watching TV and lazing on the couch was more important than cooking. If I am not careful, I may one day be drawn to join the frozen food cult - a microwaveable meal ready to eat in 2 minutes?

This particular brand of ravioli is something I have eaten several times already. The ravioli is big, but does not taste too starchy. The proportion of spinach and ricotta cheese within each ravioli is just right, without tasting too cheesy.

I just need to drop 4-5 pieces of ravioli to salted boiling water and about 5 minutes, gently stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.

To serve, sprinkle some grated parmesan cheese over the ravioli. My ravioli with spinach and ricotta cheese is now done. Now I can continue to watch my TV programs.